Manifolding mechanism for typewriters



DeCIZO, 1938. J, w FADER 2,141,064

MANIFOLDING MECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS I Filed April 5, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Q1 4 f lnvenTor. |5 a is domes W. Foder V v W Wig 2MAnya.

Patented Dec. 20, 1938' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANIFOLDINGMECHANISM FOR TYPEWRITERS 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in carbon carrier mechanism formanifolding a continuous series of forms on typewriters. Modern businessmethods require manifold copies of various instruments or forms, such asbills of lading, shipping orders, bills of account, specifications, etc.A continuousseries of such forms have been produced having transverseperforations separating the adjacent forms, thereby enabling the typistto fill out. the successive forms without removing the finished sheetand replacing a separate second sheet or sheets. Where such continuousstrips are-to be manifolded, suitable carbon sheets are interleavedbetween the superimposed sheets to be manifolded and carbon packs haveheretofore been devised to enable a plurality of relatively short carbonsheets, approximately of the length of the form, to be employed andmoved successively from one set of forms to the next after thetypewritten manifoldedform has been completed.

The present invention relates to an improved carbon pack and also toimproved carbon carrying mechanism for accomplishing this purpose. Thecarbon pack of the present invention comprises broadly a plurality ofcarbon sheets of any desired number, the upper edges of which aresecured respectively to strips of thin stifi' mate'- rial which projectbeyond the side edges of the sheet and are secured together and alsohave pivotally secured to the ends of the strips suitable means forconnecting the carbon supporting strips to a' follower andguide and.which connecting means can be pivotally moved into par allelisin withthe strips, so that'the carbon packs can be conveniently packaged andsold as a unit. a

The invention also includes a novel form of movable guide and followeradapted to be detachably connected to the carbon pack by the connectorsaforesaid, the follower being so constructed that it can be convenientlygrasped by the operator and the carbon pack drawn lengthwise of thesuperimposed sheets and guided in parallelism therewith during suchadjustment without displacing the position of the carbon sheetsrelatively to the side edges of the series of forms.

Another feature of the invention comprises the provision of a carboncarrier mechanism of the character specified which will enable thecarbonsheets to be so adjusted with respect to successive forms that the typeof the typewriter will not impinge upon the same area during themanifolding of the successive sheets, thereby insuring plain impressionsof the type upon the several manifolded slieets.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description and the accompanying draw'- lugsand will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings,in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a series of manifolding formsillustrating the position of the carbon sheets interleaved between theseveral sheets of forms and the mechanism which supports the carbonsheets and enables the same to be moved successively from one set offorms to another;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustratin the series of formsinterleaved with carbon sheets in the position when partially passedaround the platen of a typewriting machine and showing the manner inwhich the carbon pack is secured to the follower and guide;

Fig. 3 is a view of the carbon pack illustrating in full lines the meansfor connecting the carbon pack to a suitable follower arranged in foldedposition in which the carbon pack can be packaged and sold and showingin dotted lines, partially broken away, the position of the connectorswhen secured to the follower and guide;

Fig. 4 is an underneath plan view of a preferred form of follower andguide;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a carbon pack showing the manner in which thesame is connected to the follower; and,

Fig. 6 is a detail view, mainly in vertical section, through the tubularmember of the follower.

The carbon carrier mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings asassembled upon the first of a series of forms I, which usually areprinted upon a continuous sheet of paper of any suitable length. Equallyspaced lines of perforations 2 define the lengths of the several formsand provide means by which a typewritten form may be torn from theremainder of the sheet. As illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings threeseries of form sheets 3, 4, and- 5, are illustrated with a carbon sheet6 interleaved between the sheets 3 and 4, and another carbon sheet 1interleaved between the sheets 4 and 5. The carbon sheets desirably areapproximately the length of the form and each carbon sheet 6 and l isse-- cured by adhesive or otherwise to a narrow strip of stifi thinmaterial, such as fibreboard, Celluloid, or the like. As illustrated,the carbon sheet 6 is secured to a strip 8 and the carbon strip 1 issecured to a strip 9. The strips 8 and 9 are of sufllcient length toextend such distance beyond the edges of the carbon strips as to permita form sheet to be introduced between them with an original sheet lyingover the outer carbon sheet 6 and. another form sheet to lie beneath thecarbon sheet I so that the forms may be typed in triplicate. Of course,any suitable number of carbon sheets may be similarly supported uponstrips like 8 and 9 and superimposed in such manner that as many formsas may be desired can be manifolded simultaneously. The projectingendportions of the strips 8 and 9 are secured together by suitablepivotal connections, such as grommets l0, and the.connectors ll of thecarbon carrier mechanism are pivotally mounted on the grommets or othermeans which connect the ends of the strips 8 and 9.

The connectors ll desirably are formed of thin flexible stiff material,such as heavy paper or fibreboard, and means are provided for detachablyconnecting the upper ends of the connectors to a suitable follower andguide. In the preferred construction illustrated the upper ends of theconnectors are provided with a binder l2 which embraces the upper edgeof the connector and forms a thickened portion adapted to be engaged byholding means upon a tubular follower and guide.

The preferred form of follower and guide which is illustrated in Figs.4, 5, and 6, comprises a tube l3 of a suitable size which has secured oneach end an offset guide plate l4 which does not cover the end of thetube, but presents a fiat face to engage and guide the side edges of thesuperimposed sheets. Each end of the tube I3 is provided with a slot l5of a depth equal to the width of the connector H and the upper thickenedend I! of the connector ll may be swung in such manner as to introducethe thickened end l2 into the tube with the thinner portion of theconnector extending into the slot l5. If the tube is made ofsufiiciently rigid material the slot l5 may extend the full length ofthe tube.

' The guiding plates 14 at the ends of the tube desirably are connectedby a guide rod l6 spaced apart from he tube l3 a sufficient distance topermit the superimposed series of sheets to be manifolded to be passedthrough the space H between the rod l6 and the tube. The guide andfollower mechanism thus formed will prevent separation and also lateralrelative displacement of the sheets while permitting the follower to beslid freely longitudinally of the sheet.

Usually the forms are provided with blank portions l8 above the printingwhich will enable the superimposed sheets readily to be introduced intothe typewriter and the platen IQ of the typewriter rotated in suchmanner as to draw the sheets into proper position for typing. Desirablythe central portions of the lower ends of the carbon sheets 6 and I arecut away to' provide recesses 20 of suflicient area to enable thesuperimposed form sheets to be grasped by the fingers and thumb of theoperator without producing a carbon impression upon the sheets 4 and 5.

In the operation of the device the sheets 3, 4, and 5, to be typed arearranged so that the forms will register in superimposed relation. Thesheets thus superimposed are first introduced through the space Hbetween the rod l6 and the tube l3 of the follower and guide and drawndownwardly. The central sheet 4 is then introduced between the strips 8and 9 which, by reason of their flexibility, can be readily separatedfor such purpose and all of the sheets 3, l, and 5, then drawn downuntil the carbon sheets cover the area of the form to be typed. The endportions of the sheets l8 are then introduced beneath the platen I9 ofthe typewriter and the platen rotated until the form is properlypositioned relatively to the first line to be typed. The typewriter isthen operated in the usual manner to type and manifold the first set offorms. After the first set of forms has been completed the platen I9 isrotated in a reverse direction by one hand of the operator and at thesame time the tube l3 of the follower and guide is grasped by the otherhand of the operator and raised. When the end portion l8 alone isclamped between the platen and the companion feeding member of themachine the lower ends of the carbon sheets will be freed and thefollower and guide I3 may then be raised to slide the carbon sheetsupwardly until properly positioned for manifolding the next form of theseries. The platen l9 will then be rotated in a direction to feed thesheets forwardly and such rotation will be continued until the plainportion l8 of the next set of forms is clamped between the platen andits companion feeding member. The first set of forms may then be tornoff along the perforated line 2 and the platen l9 again rotated in afeeding direction to position the first line to be typed upon the nextform in proper position with relation to thetype.

The connecting members H desirably are of material sufiiciently stiff tomaintain the follower and guide in properly'spaced relation to thecarbon pack.

One of the objects of the invention, as above stated, is to provide acarbon carrier mechanism comprising a follower and guide which may bepackaged with any desirable number of carbon packs and used in themanner above described with each pack. Furthermore, the carbon packs maybe packaged and sold separately from the follower and guide as each packnot only comprises the carbon sheets and the strips supporting them, butalso the connectors which are pivotally mounted upon the strips of thecarbon pack and are adapted tobe folded into parallelism with the stripsin such manner that several packs of carbon strips may be placed inacomparatively thin box or container.

It will be understood that the particular embodiment of the inventionherein shown and described is of an illustrative character and thatvarious changes in construction and arrangement of parts may be employedand that any desirable number of carbon sheets may be assembled for eachcarbon pack.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding on a typewriter asuperimposed series of like form sheets comprising a rigid guide adaptedto extend transversely beneath said form sheets having means to engagethe superimposed form sheets and means to hold the edges thereof inalinement, a carbon sheet carrier having means connected to the upperends respectively of a. plurality of carbon sheets and extending beyondthe edges of said carbon sheets and united beyond said ends and holdingsaid carbon sheets in parallelism and in separated relation to permitthe form sheets to be slidably assembled in superimposed and interleafedrelation to said carbon sheets, and flexible connecting strips securedto the ends of said carrier having means detachably to engage saidguide.

2. A carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding on a typewriter asuperimposed series of like form sheets comprising a rigid metallicguide adapted to extend transversely beneath said form sheets havingmeans to engage the superimposed form sheets and provided with guides toengage the edges of said form sheets and to maintain the same inalinement, said guide being provided at its ends with slotted tubularsockets, a carrier having means connected to the upper ends respectivelyof a plurality of carbon sheets and extending beyond the edges of saidcarbon sheets and united beyond said ends and, holding said carbonsheets in parallelism and in separated relation to permit the formsheets to be slidably assembled in superimposed "and interleafedrelation to said carbon sheets, and flexible connecting strips securedto the ends oil said carrier having thickened free end portions adaptedto be inserted in slots in said guide thereby detachably toconnect saidstrips to said guide.

3. Carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding a continuous series of formson a typewriter comprising a plurality of parallel carbon sheets,supporting strips of thin, stiff material secured to the upper edges ofthe respective'sheets and projecting at their ends beyond the side edgesof the sheets, means uniting the superimposed projecting ends of saidstrips, a connector pivotally mounted on each of said united ends, aguide for said continuous forms, and means detachably securing saidconnector to said guide.

4. Carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding a continuous series of'forms on a typewriter comprising a plurality of parallel carbon sheets,supporting strips of thin, stiff material secured to the upper edges ofthe respective sheets and projecting at their ends beyond the side edgesof the sheets, means uniting the superimposed projecting ends of saidstrips, a connector pivotally mounted on each of said united ends, andhaving a relatively thick end portion; a guide for said continuous formscomprising a tubular member having slots at its ends detachably toreceive the thick end portions of the respective connectors.

5. Carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding a continuous seriesof formson a typewriter comprising a plurality of parallel carbon sheets,supporting strips of thin, stiff material secured to the upper edges ofthe respective sheets and projecting at their ends beyond the side edgesof the sheets, grommets uniting the respective superimposed projectingends of said strips, a connector of thin, relatively stiff, materialpivotally mounted on each of said grommets and having a relatively thickfree end portion, a guide for said continuous forms comprising a tubularmember having slots at its ends detachably to receive the thick endportion of the respective connectors.

6. Carbon carrier mechanism for manifolding a continuous series of formson a typewriter comprising a plurality of parallel carbon sheets,supporting strips of thin, stiff material secured to the upper edges ofthe respective sheets and projecting at their ends beyond the side edgesof the sheets, grommets uniting the respective superimposed projectingends of said strips, a connector of thin, relatively stifi, materialpivotally mounted on each of said grommets and having a relatively thickfree end portion, a guide for said continuous forms comprising a tubularmember having slots at its ends detachably to receive the thick endportion of the respective connectors and provided at its ends withguiding members for the edges of said forms, and means connecting saidedge guiding members extending in parallelism with said tubular memberand spaced therefrom to permit the superimposed forms to passtherebetween.

7. As an article of manufacture a carbon pack for manifolding acontinuous series of forms on a typewriter comprising a plurality ofcarbon sheets, supporting strips of thin, stiif material secured to theupper edges of the respective carbon sheets and projecting at their endsbeyond the side edges of said carbon sheets, means uniting thesuperimposed projecting ends of said strips, and a connector ofrelatively thin stifi material mounted on each of the united ends ofsaid strips and adapted to be swung into parallelism with and adjacentto said strips or at right angles thereto to project beyond the edge ofsaid carbon sheets.

8. As an article of manufacture a carbon pack for manifolding acontinuous series of forms on a typewriter comprising a plurality ofcarbon sheets, supporting strips of thin, stiff material secured to theupper edges of the respective sheets and projecting at their ends beyondthe side edges of said sheets, and grommets uniting the respectivesuperimposed projecting ends of said strips, and connectors of thinrelatively stifi' material pivotally mounted upon the respectivegrommets and adapted to be swung into parallelism with and adjacent tosaid strips or at right angles thereto toproject beyond the edge of saidcarbon sheets.

JAMES W. FADER.

